Reunited
by rainbowthefox
Summary: When Hunk stops returning Dorothy's letters, she gets depressed. Then she realizes a certain strawman was watching over her the whole time. Scarecrow/Dorothy, Wizard of Oz.


The room was settled in by silence. The only noises breaking the peaceful quietness of the room was the fire that had been kindled in the fireplace an hour earlier. The flames were dying down and the only noises coming from it now were crackles and pops. This didn't disturb the figure sitting in the only occupied room of the house. A woman sat on the edge of her bed as she sorted through a box that lay on the blankets. There was a faint sound of her flicking through the papers. She soon selected on one and grabbed it from the box, unfolding it in her hands and reading what had been written on it ages ago.

Dorothy Gale's hands trembled as she clutched at a piece of paper. It had spent a couple of years in a box stored in their attic. The sheet itself had aged through wrinkles and tears, and there was an old coffee stain on the corner of the page. The writing on it was barely legible by now, but Dorothy could still make out words and symbols. She had memorized every single letter by now, constantly reading through them whenever the memories came back to her. There were about 20 of them stacked in that box - all untouched by nothing but spider webs and dust from their time in storage.

She dedicated that box to her collection of letters she received from Hunk. He left for college shortly after Dorothy woke from her dream of Oz ages ago. He had promised to write to her and kept it, sending her heartfelt messages every month or two. And Dorothy wrote back to him every time. She made sure she wrote clearly and meant every word that would be coming to him. They contained things that would make her blush, and some of them even held things that Auntie Em couldn't see.

It didn't take long for Dorothy to realize her feelings for Hunk. The tall, lanky man who was once a clumsy worker on Auntie Em's farm. She hadn't felt much for him when they were physically together, but the moment he left to pursue his goal in college, Dorothy felt some sort of longing for him. That his company had always been beloved by her, but it took him finally leaving for her to realize it.

And that was where the letters came from.

They first started off very friendly. Hunk only wrote about coming to college and what courses he planned on taking in the beginning. Dorothy's responses were very polite and encouraging - she always left a note on the bottom of her letters telling him to "write back soon". And Hunk did. He always wrote back to her the moment he'd receive her letters, and he'd mail them straight away to Kansas. There hadn't been a moment where either of them forgot to write back. Dorothy felt that Hunk was becoming a close friend to her, as if she knew everything about him by the things he wrote to her.

They soon escalated into something more.

Dorothy noticed that Hunk's letters became more endearing. He spoke of things that would make her blush and bite her lip, giving her sensations she hadn't felt before. And Dorothy liked feeling this way. Even _she_ would write things back to him that Auntie Em would scold her if she ever found out. But they all went exclusively to Hunk, only to be seen by his eyes and no one else's. She was happy this way. Happy that they had grown so close to where their letters consisted of messages telling each other how much they missed one another, and how happy they'd be once they were reunited.

One day, Dorothy stopped receiving letters.

Her last letter to Hunk had been about her confessing her love for him. She hadn't meant to be so direct with it, but it felt right to, at the time. It was the first sentence she wrote. The rest of the letter was her admitting all the things she had wrote to him prior were out of love. She meant every word she had written, and she even wrote it neater than usual. Her heart felt like it would burst the times she checked the mailbox afterwards - but she had never gotten word back from him since.

She asked Auntie Em to phone him. To check if he was okay. Emily obliged and phoned Hunk, only to realize that he changed his number the moment he left for college. She called his folks and asked about his whereabouts, but it turned out that none of them had a clue. They hadn't any connection with him the moment he left for college, except for the letters he sent. And his family confirmed that Hunk had stopped writing - wherever he was.

Dorothy had never felt so distraught.

There was a period where she locked herself in her room and demanded no one come in. She spent her mornings and nights weeping into tissues. She slept for most of the day and very seldom ate. She lost a lot of weight and happiness in that period, worrying both her Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. They ended up having to remove the door. Dorothy had recovered then - but she was still so sensitive about losing Hunk. Any mention of him would send her into either an uncontrollable sobbing fit or a period of depression that would last for the whole evening. She clung onto those letters, and her tears smudged the writing on some.

It hadn't been long until Henry and Emily suggested she'd move on.

They brought her some men every now-and-then, all different in their own ways. They had their charms and some of them certainly had their looks. But Dorothy caught onto her Uncle and Aunt's charade of hiring able-bodied men for the farm work specifically for her. They all reflected Hunk in some way. And every time she'd be reminded of him, Dorothy would turn them away. There was no one in the world who could replace Hunk. No one who could repeat the things he said to her or the times he'd been there for her. There was only one man for her and he was gone now, somewhere in a sophisticated life above her.

And here she was now, only a couple of years afterwards. Her Aunt and Uncle were gone somewhere buying something for the farm, leaving Dorothy alone for a few hours. She had settled on reading through some of the letters but hadn't been expecting to get so emotional about them. Dorothy sniffled as she read through the one in her hand. It took everything for her not to break down again.

 _To Dorothy,_

 _College is really hard. I've got a lot to read and write. I'm not used to doing so much work. Well, college work. You know what I mean. It's one thing taking care of chickens but it's another trying to figure out this "geometry" stuff. But writing to you is the only thing keeping me sane right now. I miss you an awful lot. I don't mind reading or writing when it's for you. You're the only reason I'm doing so well, Dorothy. I hope you know that. I can't wait until I come back home and see you again. You're going to get the biggest kiss when I do._

 _Love,_  
 _Hunk_

Her hands trembled again, fingers threatening to smudge the dried ink. Dorothy took a sharp breath as she closed her eyes, and felt a couple of tears fall down from her cheek. She quickly returned the paper in the box and clutched at its sides. She finally gave into her tears and let out a sob, covering her face with her hands and leaning over the box. Some of her tears were falling on the edges of the folded letters.

"Oh, Hunk..." Dorothy cried. "What happened to you?"

Her cries ensued for only a few minutes until Dorothy got a hold of herself. She looked back at the box and grabbed its top, firmly setting it back into place. She grabbed it and set it down on the floor, sliding the box underneath her bed and tucking it out of sight. She hoped she would forget about it now. She hoped that the thought of Hunk and the letters would leave her mind forever. That the tears she shed some nights would finally be put to an end.

Her fingers started tingling. Dorothy gulped as she rubbed her hands, and left the room to go and sit by the fire. She stared at the flames for a few minutes in silence. She could hear the clock ticking in the room. She felt like it was counting down all the minutes until she would weep again. Weep about losing the only man who ever loved her...the only one who bothered to write to her every month. Her lip quivered and she rubbed the ends of her eyes.

"So what if he never wrote back?" She asked herself. "Maybe he ran out of paper. Or maybe his pencil broke and he never got something to sharpen it."

There were a few pops sounding from the fireplace. Dorothy blinked and furrowed her eyebrows, shaking her head gently and frowning.

"No...that can't be it. He'd have bought papers by now. It's not hard to write - even for him. A couple of years is an awful long time."

Her eyes grew moist yet again. She closed them and rubbed them gently with her finger, feeling the moisture of the tears finally leaving her eyes. She sniffed a few times to get rid of any sadness left in her. And then she felt nothing. Like she was empty now...her eyes and mouth now completely dry. She lowered her head and sighed.

Why did she love Hunk so much? They hadn't done much when they were together. The only time she truly felt something for him was the last time she touched him. When she caressed his chin as he looked at her from her bed. After the longest dream she had in her life. There had been something warm in her heart when she touched him. As if his face had resembled someone that made her feel so attached to him.

A name that hadn't crossed her mind in years left her lips.

"Scarecrow..."

* * *

The Kansas girl was now walking down the trail outside her home. She had her hands clasped down at her waistline and was staring at the ground solemnly. Her jaw had locked in place and her eyes were focused on the bugs that crawled on the dirt. She didn't have much on her mind now. Nothing besides the thought of her friend she had said goodbye to long ago.

Dorothy missed Scarecrow. She hadn't lied to him when she told him she'd "miss him the most". He just hadn't crossed her mind much when she was involved with Hunk. Neither did the Tin Man or the Lion. She missed them as well, but the Scarecrow just felt so special to her. And she couldn't figure out why. He resembled Hunk in some way, but there wasn't much alike between them.

"No, that's not true." She suddenly told herself. "They're both really smart, aren't they?"

She had no idea whose validation she was searching for. She looked around and noticed that no one was there. Not anyone besides her. She went quiet again and gazed out into the fields from afar. It was the same one she saw the hurricane come through years ago. The one that had brought her to Kansas. Or - at least she _believed_ so.

Dorothy's brown eyes came to the sky. It looked beautifully blue today. She hadn't noted much about her surroundings. Things were quiet, but they were peaceful. She suddenly wished she could have done so much more with her life. All she'd done now was wait around for a piece of paper every month. One that, in the end, truly didn't matter.

Right when things started to turn dark, Dorothy suddenly saw something colorful. She blinked her eyes repeatedly, thinking that her sight was mistaken. But it wasn't - there was a rainbow curved in the sky before her. All with beautiful colors. Ones that instantly reminded her of Oz. That wonderful, wonderful place she had gone long ago...and left just to be back to this dull part of her world.

She placed a hand to her chin in thought. "How odd," She sounded. "It hasn't been raining...why, there's not a cloud in the sky!"

The more Dorothy studied this rainbow, the more abnormal it seemed. It had glistening parts that were reflected by nothing. The colors were floating in the air. She took a step forward in hopes of getting close to it, but realized how far it was in the sky. The longer she took to ponder about it, the less she realized that the end was turning in her direction. The rainbow's end was suddenly turning to her, and stopped once it engulfed her figure.

Dorothy had no time to react, as she was suddenly surrounded by colors. She gasped when she was suddenly lifted from her feet, and the rainbow seemed to swallow her as it brought her up through the sky. She watched in fear as he home grew to nothing more but the size of an ant. Her screams grew to nothing more but a whisper as she left Kansas, sliding on the smooth texture of colors as she headed in the direction of an ocean.

* * *

The rainbow dropped her at the beginning of a path, in the middle of a grass field. Dorothy was scared out of her wits - still shaken by the fact that she traveled in the middle of the sky. Her body shook as she supported herself upwards, and she stopped her knees from buckling against one another as she stood firmly on the ground. The moment she took a look around, she recognized where she was. She forgot all about Hunk and their letters the moment her eyes looked around.

"Oz!?" She exclaimed aloud.

Dorothy looked forward and recognized the infamous yellow brick road. The one she had followed and used as a guide for her long journey years ago. She bent down and laid a finger on its surface, trailing it along the bricks in awe. She knew then that this was real. The surface felt so much rougher than it did in her dreams. She stood back up and looked around with a smile. She felt so happy to be back in Oz!

She followed her instinct and instantly started to follow the trail. It looked as clean and golden as it did before. Except this time she was alone, no longer accompanied by her furry little friend. Or her tin man, her lion, or her dear Scarecrow...

Dorothy became a little gloom at this fact. She continued following the trail for what felt like ages until she saw the familiar sight of Emerald City. Its tall, green buildings towered over the colorful surroundings almost naturally. She grinned as she now skipped along the bricks. She remembered the way very fondly - especially the turn that the Scarecrow helped her out with years ago. Dorothy stopped in her tracks when she came to the gates. She remembered the sign she saw long ago, and laid two hearty knocks on the door's surface.

A gatekeeper surfaced from the door. He wasn't the same one she came into contact with years ago. This one was much younger, and didn't have a mustache. He leaned forward and scrutinized her figure, scrunching up his nose before exclaiming loudly.

"Who goes there!?"

Dorothy blinked in surprise. She responded, "Why, it's me, Dorothy! Don't you recognize me?"

The guard's eyes widened before changing his look to one that held disbelief. Dorothy looked down at her clothes. She wasn't wearing the same blue dress she had worn years ago. She was wearing She didn't have the infamous glittering ruby slippers, either. She looked just like any ordinary Kansas girl. Dorothy frowned as she looked back at the guard, eyes pleading for him to recognize her.

"You don't look like no Dorothy," He replied apprehensively. "What are you here for!?"

"I'm here to see my friends again." She answered hopefully. "The Scarecrow, the Tin man, and the Li-"

"Scarecrow!?" The guard repeated. "What business do you have with our King?"

Dorothy blinked, suddenly remembering that he was the King of Oz now. She had forgotten that the Wizard lent his role over to the Scarecrow. There was no way she could see him now...he must be in the castle, far from where she is. Dorothy frowned and looked at the guard with pleading eyes.

"I'd like to see him," She responded. "I have something to ask of him."

"Why, if you can ask _him_ , you can ask me!" The guard crossed his arms. He asked, "What is it you want?"

"Please, sir, it's very personal. If you could let me-"

They were interrupted by the sounds of galloping horses. Both Dorothy and the Guard turned, only to see many colorful horses running down the road and towards the gate. The Guard instinctively went back to open the gates, thus letting whoever had been marching in. Dorothy bit her lip as she darted in their direction, and managed to slip into Emerald City right before the gates closed. She heard the Guard protesting from afar, but Dorothy didn't stop for him. She was too busy looking at her surroundings.

Emerald City didn't change much in appearance. Everything still looked so green, and all the people dressed oddly but still had chipper attitudes. No one around seemed to recognize her, judging by the many confused faces and judging looks of the eye from ones who passed her. Dorothy consciously slipped through the crowd, trying to look for the sight of any of her friends.

She eventually found the Scarecrow sitting on the steps of the castle. He had a piece of paper in his hands and seemed troubled reading through whatever was on it. Dorothy felt her heart nearly leap out of her chest seeing him. She hadn't meant to push through the crowds, but she did. She came running over and exclaimed with the biggest grin she'd worn in years.

"Scarecrow!"

He glanced up in surprise and widened his eyes the moment he saw Dorothy. He grinned and stood, naturally opening his arms for her. Dorothy instantly went into them and wrapped her arms around his thin and soft body. She tried her best not to crush him, but she was just so excited to see her friend again! She hugged him tightly for a full minute until she let go. She looked at his figure and tilted her head.

He certainly had changed through the years. He changed both his hat and his clothes to a blue color. He was wearing a green sash with a few badges on it, presumably for his contributions to Oz. He was also wearing red gloves and boots. But despite these changes, Dorothy knew right away this was the same Scarecrow she knew. She held her hands behind her back as she looked at him brightly.

"Dorothy," Scarecrow said in disbelief. "It...it worked!"

"What worked?" She asked.

"Come on, I'll explain it all inside."

He grabbed her hand and started leading her into the castle. The guards nearby the door saluted the Scarecrow as he walked in. Dorothy waved to them and was all too happy to follow her friend closely. She felt so relieved that she was with him again. And back in Oz, nonetheless! It certainly looked like it was handled with good hands. Everyone here still seems so happy.

"How have things been, Scarecrow?" Dorothy asked as they wandered down the long hallways. "I've been gone for so long..."

"Longer than you'd think," He replied. "Time goes a bit quicker in here than it does in your world, Dorothy. You were gone for 6 years!"

Her eyes widened in surprise. "6 years?" She repeated. "Why, it's only been 2 years in Kansas!"

He opened his mouth to say something but they suddenly came to a door. He opened it and revealed a large, empty room to them both. There was some sort of machine placed in the center with lots of buttons and levers. She happened to notice the couple of chairs placed in the room. The Scarecrow grabbed them and started to situate them nearby the door, but Dorothy was too occupied looking at the machine. She stepped forward and placed a hand on its surface, noting how cold the metal was.

The Scarecrow noticed this and stepped towards her. She turned to him before he could stop her.

"What's this?" She asked.

"I call it the 'Rainbow-Mover'," He said. "It transports rainbows to different parts of Oz."

Dorothy glanced down and looked at all the buttons. She noticed the ones that named the different castles as well as parts of Oz. One button stood out from the rest, and it was one labelled "Kansas". She turned back to the Scarecrow and pointed to it, giving him a confused look.

"Why do you have Kansas on here?"

The Scarecrow looked between her and the button. He frowned and started rubbing the back of his head. She noticed that he was avoiding eye contact with her. He muttered, "It's...a long story..."

"I'd love to hear it," She stepped towards him. "I'd love to hear about everything. I've missed Oz so much..."

He gave her a stitched smile and started leading her back to the chairs. Dorothy took a seat on one and the Scarecrow sat on the other. She noticed that they were sitting across from one another. Dorothy started scooting her chair so she sat right beside him. She didn't know what ushered her to do so, but she felt comfortably warm being next to him. The Scarecrow looked at her with wide eyes.

She noticed he was having trouble starting conversation, so Dorothy spared him the effort. She placed her hands in her lap and said, "I'm surprised you recognized me, Scarecrow."

"Of course I recognized you! Why would you say that?" He asked.

"Well, that Guard back at the gates and everyone here doesn't seem to remember me." Dorothy brought up. "I thought for sure you wouldn't...I've grown so much."

"That you have," He nodded. "Where's Toto?"

She looked at the ground sadly. "He passed away last summer."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine," She shrugged it off. "How's the Tin Man? And the Lion?"

"They're doing good. They're in charge of other things," The Scarecrow replied. "If I'd have known that that test worked, I would've brought them over to see you."

"Test?" Dorothy repeated.

"Right. The 'Rainbow Mover'..." Scarecrow glanced behind them at the machine. "You see, Dorothy, I've been keeping an eye on you. Ever since you left Kansas, I've had this goal to bring you back. I constructed the Rainbow Mover to watch you from Oz and hopefully bring you back someday."

He looked away from her and shrugged. "I've been trying to find the coordinates of your home to get you. I ran a test today to see if it could even _reach_ Kansas, but it grabbed you instead."

She had been listening to his story with interest. She said, "That's really impressive, Scarecrow!"

"Is it?" He asked. He had this hopeful smile on his face that made Dorothy smile.

"Why, yes, it is! And it certainly worked. I'm here now." She flattened her dress shyly. "Did you need me for something? Is Oz in trouble?"

He shook his head. "No, no, Oz is fine. I've just...been missing you."

Something about that made Dorothy's heart flutter. She smiled back at him and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. She felt so relieved to hear that he missed her. She thought it was odd to be missing him for this long - especially this close. It was good to know that the feeling was mutual.

"How long have you been watching me?"

The Scarecrow smiled sheepishly at her. He apparently hadn't been expecting the question. He rubbed the back of his head again and shook a bit. Dorothy thought there was something wrong with him until he answered her.

"For...a couple of years now. I don't watch you _all_ the time. Just to make sure you're okay."

Dorothy tried to recollect everything that had happened for these couple of years. All that came to mind was her constant back-and-forth letters between her and Hunk. She suddenly wondered if the Scarecrow happened to notice that. She went to ask him but suddenly felt shy. It felt like she was admitting something to him that she shouldn't...something bad. She held this feeling back by biting her lip.

"Did you happen to see the letters I've been writing?" She asked.

"Yes," He replied. "You read them out loud."

She blushed, suddenly feeling so embarrassed. She waved a hand in front of her face as he asked him, "...You didn't happen to see what he wrote back either, did you?"

The Scarecrow's smile fell to a frown. He slowly looked away from her and nodded. "Yeah, I have. His name is Hunk, if I'm not wrong?"

She felt like her heart dropped the moment he frowned. The Scarecrow seemed a bit troubled at the topic of him. But there wasn't any way to take any of this back now. So Dorothy nodded and continued the conversation.

"Yes, it is. You know about him?"

"Just the letters," He clarified. "You two seemed really close."

Dorothy's cheeks reddened. She started twirling the end of her hair with her finger. "I suppose you could say that..."

He understood what this meant right away. He leaned forward and asked, "How long have you two been together?"

"It started a little after the letters," She explained. "We're not together anymore...At least, I don't think so. He never replied to my last letter. I don't know where he is or who he's with. It's been so long..."

She frowned at the memory. She started getting the urge to cry again. Scarecrow noticed this and went forward to hug her. Dorothy wrapped her arms around his shoulders and softly cried into his suit. She had cried alone for the longest time, but now she was with her friend. Her dear friend, the Scarecrow...The thought of it made her feel better right away. She sniffled before pulling back and wiping the tears out from her eyes.

Scarecrow frowned. "Dorothy, I'm sorry if I upset you talking about it. If you want, we-"

"No, it's fine." She shook her head. "You were just curious, is all."

"I care about you, you know. I've seen you cry a lot over the letters." He then added guiltily, "I wish I could've been there for you. I should've came then."

"I suppose...you always have been." She admitted. "Watching over me when I didn't even know it. You never left me, did you, Scarecrow?"

He smiled. "I never did, Dorothy."

She relaxed her shoulders and came to him again, wrapping her arms around him and rested her head on the side of his chest. The Scarecrow's hands hovered over her before relaxing on her shoulder, holding her close to him. She didn't know what came over her. He just made her feel so warm then. Assuring her that he had been there when she felt so alone...that when the one man she loved abandoned her, the Scarecrow was still there with her. Dorothy opened her eyes and watched the floor quietly.

"He reminded me a lot of you, Scarecrow." She brought up.

He sounded apprehensive. "How?" He asked.

"Well, you both are smart." She looked up at his face. "He went off to college, and you've already got your diploma. Hunk had trouble deciding what he wanted to do. He always reminded me of you whenever I was with him."

She closed her eyes and muttered, "I guess that's why I loved him..."

The Scarecrow struggled with his words. He stuttered. "C-Come again?"

"I've always had this feeling he reminded me of someone." Dorothy admitted, slowly removing her head from his chest and looking at him. "I had this sense that he was just acting like someone I knew. And it's only taken me this long to realize that it was you, Scarecrow. I've never loved Hunk for who he was - just who he reminded me of."

"Dorothy..."

"A-and I suppose," She looked away from him. "That means I love you. I've missed you so much, Scarecrow. You've never really left my mine the moment I left Oz. I always felt you were always there with me, and now I know that's true."

His tone went softer. "D...Dorothy..."

"It's alright if you don't feel the same. I can only guess that after 6 years you'd lose whatever you felt for me." She fought the tears threatening to leave her eyes. "I can understand if you want to bring me back to Kansas now. I really don't have any right to-"

"Dorothy."

She opened her eyes and looked back at the Scarecrow. He was smiling at her - brighter than he had before. He took her in his arms again and squeezed her as close as he could. She smiled and clutched at the end of his glove. His hug still felt so warm, even though her chest had grown cold at the thought of him not feeling the same. One of her tears slipped out from her eye and fell on one of his medals.

"I've waited so long for you," He cupped her face with both of his hands. "At one point I thought I could never bring you back. But I worked so hard to do it. I've missed you just as much as you've missed me. I've went through a lot of trouble to get you back. And I'm so glad it worked."

Dorothy smiled, placing her hands over his. "Scarecrow, does this mean-"

"Yes." He confirmed. "I love you, Dorothy."

Her heart finally burst. She went forward to hug him again and finally brought herself to him, settling in his lap and laying a big kiss on the side of his burlap face. She laid a few more while she was at, all leaving wet imprints from her lips. The Scarecrow turned her face so his lips could meet hers. She closed her eyes as they kissed, and only pulled back when he did.

"Welcome back to Oz," He finally said, looking at her lovingly. Dorothy giggled and nodded.

"I'm glad to be here," She said. Then added, "-With you."

He kissed her again.


End file.
